Editorial: Spontaneous Generation (November 2006)

Journal Article | October 2006

The continuing development and renewal of a capable, fair (and wise) faculty must be one of the first priorities of the existing professoriate. In the sciences, where our disciplines frighten even the other departments…

Teaching through Trade Books: The Dirt on Soil

Journal Article | August 2007

Have you ever played in the dirt? Repotted a plant? Planted a garden? In each and every one of these activities, you touched something that is a valuable resource in our lives—dirt! This month’s column has students…

Methods and Strategies: Think-Alouds in Inquiry Science

Journal Article | August 2006

As teachers, we know that learning through an inquiry approach is helpful for our students. However, not all students are accustomed to learning through inquiry. Some have never experienced an inquiry investigation in…

Small Things Draw Big Interest

Journal Article | December 2004

Through this partnership between a university and elementary school, third-grade students explore science topics and incorporate microscopy into the lessons. Students also visit the university for further hands-on…

Science Sampler: The Sweet Earth

Journal Article | September 2005

This activity compares different kinds of candy to the different types of rocks based on direct observation. A great number of geologic processes either take unimaginable lengths of time to complete, or happen in places…

The Early Years: Helper Hats

Journal Article | January 2010

Special clothing is worn by “community helpers” such as police officers, nurses, firefighters, cafeteria workers, dentists, and waste management workers as they do their jobs. The special clothing allows workers to be…

Science Shorts: Modeling Light and Shadows

Journal Article | September 2012

This column provides classic classroom activities that emphasize science process skills. This month’s issue describes a 5E lesson in which students study light and shadows through a broad range of verbal, numerical, and…

Scope on the Skies: April's planetary line up

Journal Article | March 2002

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. Sit back and enjoy the month of April as the five brightest planets are arranged over the western horizon at sunset.

Safer Science: Math Classes and Study Halls in Science Labs?

Journal Article | February 2011

These days, science labs are often assigned to nonscience employees and classes at least one period a school day. Is this a prudent decision safety-wise? Is it legal? This month's column presents three scenarios and…

Idea Bank: Warming to Global Warming—Sunspots and Sea-Surface Temperature

Journal Article | March 2008

In the problem-based laboratory activity described here, students evaluate the causality of changes on the solar surface in regard to climate change and warming in Earth’s environment. They use graphing calculators and…

Science 101: What is a fossil?

Journal Article | January 2003

A fossil is a preserved trace of an organism or event. There are many types of fossils. Usually these are preserved in sedimentary rocks—like sandstone, limestone, and shale—laid down on the surface of the planet or…

Progressive Questioning: Improving Students' Critical-Thinking, Logic, and Problem-Solving Skills

Journal Article | December 2004

The senior-level course Water Pollution and Purification for environmental science majors at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore requires students to use interdisciplinary knowledge, critical-thinking, logic, and…

Establishing Problem-Solving Habits in Introductory Science Courses

Journal Article | February 2006

Students crave porblem-solving strategies that promise increased achievement on tests. Student ambitions seem to align with teacher goals, yet students resist using these strategies for various reasons. This article…

Global Warming: It's Not Cool! A model for creating Multisensory Instructional Packages

Journal Article | February 1999

The author designed this Multisensory Instructional Package (MIP) to develop environmental awareness in a variety of interesting ways. All the resources in the MIP focus on the same objectives, but each resource allows…

Scope on the Skies: Drawkcab stenalp

Journal Article | January 2012

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. This month’s issue discusses retrograde motion and models of the solar system.